Chapter Text
Since he was a child he wanted to save people with a smile, to make others feel safe and at ease. He wanted to inspire and to defend. He wanted to be like his idol, AllMight, greater than life, steady and admirable. It was a great honor and responsibility to stand guard of the peace and well being of the people and he was immensely grateful and proud to don his costume and go out to be the best hero he could be every day.
Midoriya Izuku, the pro hero Deku, the darling of Musutafu and successor to AllMight was a well known and liked pro hero that was easy to find around the city, patrolling, helping civilians and in general spreading good vibes. Number four on the charts, he always ensured the safety of the public and dealt with threats swiftly.
He fought villains with ferocious force backed by his frankly overpowered quirk. He helped old ladies across the street. He helped kids find their parents. He was often approached by fans asking for photos and signatures or journalists that were a tad too nosy and pushy, but never really nasty to him. It was hard not to at least tolerate the good boy next door vibes he emitted. Other heroes and dispatchers always liked to work with him.
Many probably wished they could partner up with the cheerful hero, but no one was stupid enough to speak of such wish aloud.
Not when the spot next to hero Deku was occupied by a live explosive in the person of Dynamight.
Not that Dynamight himself would be an issue if one tried to take his spot. Sure, he would have argued - loudly - and wouldn’t step down without a fight, but everyone who knew the Wonderduo knew also with iron solid confidence that there was no prying Deku from Dynamight. Even retired AllMight doubted he could persuade his successor to pick a different partner. Not that he wanted, the old hero was quite fond of the team they made.
So, even when Dynamite was not on duty, be it because of illness, injuries or inconveniences of another nature, Deku rarely partnered up with other heroes to travel down his patrol route. He was on those rare days Dynamight wasn’t at his side, walking the streets and jumping the rooftops alone, diligent in his work but refusing to take another partner, even if everyone knew it’d be just a temporary thing. And since Dynamight himself was the same way when Deku wasn’t on the clock, their friends and even the public tended to joke that the Wonderduo were treating their partnership like a marriage.
Neither disagreed.
So, it was no surprise that Deku was patrolling alone on this fine day, walking down a random street in his patrol area, smiling at the peaceful day. Somehow the villains and criminals knew to be on their best behavior. Deku was just glad there were no people in danger and no tedious battle reports to fill after his patrol was over. He could go home to his grumpy sick gremlin soon if there was no emergency.
So, of course, a big emergency happened, right at the corner of a park where the local kids liked to play and run wild between playground attractions, benches and trees..
A girl’s broken cry cut across the afternoon atmosphere and Deku was off in a flash of green sparks.
A second later a Deku exploded in a rain of plastic foil in bright colors and broken dreams.
When Deku arrived at the scene of disturbance, the debris was floating gently to the ground around a tired looking lady and what clearly was her daughter, a preschool girl in a pretty dress and with pink ribbons in her pigtails.
The girl was clutching to her chest a piece of string that ended in a sad strip of plastic foil in bright red. Midoriya blinked at the kid, who looked not injured, just tremendously upset. He turned his quizzical eyes to the mother, who locked tired brown eyes with his own, then sighed and stroked her daughter’s hair soothingly. Then she smiled and spoke softly to the distressed kid.
“I know that you were really excited about your Deku balloon, Ami,” she cooed. “The nasty park fence deserves a big scolding for poking a hole in him.“
The girl nodded, still sobbing and hiding her face in her mother’s shoulder. Izuku, now stepping closer, exchanged another look with the lady and winked, easing his tense pose. There was no villain to fight here, just bad luck and faulty fencing. And there was an easy fix to it, too.
“but there is no need to cry, baby,” the lady continued, stroking her hair and prying the cord from her grasp gently. “And do you know why?”
“Because I’m here,” Deku chimed in, crouching down next to the pair. He knew that there were probably some onlookers, heroes always garnered curious eyes, but he was more focused on the pair. The thankful spark in the lady’s eye told him that she appreciated that he took time to approach them. Some heroes tended to forget they were responsible for uplifting others, scoffing at things that weren’t spectacular fights or famous events, but Deku saw no issue in little things, helping others was what he always wished to do.
At the sound of his voice the little girl gasped and lifted her head to stare at him, eyes overflowing with tears, snot coating her face. Those mournful eyes went wide when Izuku grinned at her, then she squealed and launched herself at the hero.
Izuku never dodged huge attacks. Even if they were loaded with snot and sticky fingers. His costume could withstand more foul liquids and had to be washed after a full day of work anyway.
“Deku-san,” the girl babbled, clinging to his front much like she’d done with her mother. “I’m so sorry that fence-san dieded you.”
“It’s okay,” Midoriya patted the child’s back. “I remember quite a few of my balloons exploded back in the day, too, so I know what you’re feeling.”
He didn’t mention that some of those had been destroyed by nasty kids.
Sometimes - way too often if one asked the insurance companies - heroes had to fight great spectacular battles against all sorts of nefarious villains. Sometimes they had to help in rescue and relief after a calamity like an earthquake. Sometimes they had to cheer the public by taking part in events or raising funds for charities. Often they reached out to the fans and interacted with the youth to inspire greatness in the next generation.
And sometimes, mused Izuku, they were standing in for a popped balloon of their own self.
So, you see, when Ami’s heartfelt tears were dried and her smile restored, the little girl and her mother told Deku about the party the small lady was about to attend in the park that was beyond the malicious balloon murdering fence. She’d been so excited to show off her new balloon to all her friends, too. And Deku, the sweetheart that he was, made a call to his agency, discussing shortly a matter with his dispatcher. He was about to end his patrol shift anyway, the area was peaceful.
So, with the snickering blessing of his dispatcher, Deku smiled at the two females next to him and shared his plan with them.
Five minutes later little Ami bounced towards a small picnic area with tables and benches, a bunch of kids and their parents already gathered there, talking, playing and setting food they’d brought.
Tethered to her chubby hand and floating idly above her head, Deku tried not to giggle at the excited kids praising the balloon she got for being ‘super ultra realistic’.
So what if for the next week he got to be teased by both the public and his friends for his splendid balloon impersonation. What if for days after petty criminals tried to taunt him with terrible puns? What if he had to make a new line of limited edition Deku balloons because his PR manager wanted to ride the tide? His pride as a hero took no hits for saving one girl’s smile.
Also, which Deku wouldn’t ever confess, getting back to the ground fifteen minutes into the party to reveal his actually not a balloon identity had made him snicker for the whole way home where his sniffling, feverish husband was already howling with laughter.